


Can't You See What I See?

by Rosie2009



Series: Descendants Fanfiction [12]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Disney - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23550307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosie2009/pseuds/Rosie2009
Summary: It all starts when Evie lightens her hair to baby blue and begins wearing a corset. That’s when Mal knew something was terribly and truly wrong with her sister. Mentions of Bal, but Mal and Evie sister/best friend feels are abundant as well as a large dose of angst. Warning: there are heavy topics surrounding eating disorders in this.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Carlos de Vil, Evie & Jay & Carlos de Vil, Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Evie & Jay (Disney), Evie & Mal (Disney), Jay & Carlos De Vil, Jay & Mal (Disney), Mal & Carlos de Vil
Series: Descendants Fanfiction [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1252532
Kudos: 38





	Can't You See What I See?

It was finally summer break for the kids at Auradon Prep, and Mal and Evie were planning to go out to the Waffle Hut and meet the boys so they could fully enjoy their first day of it.

At this moment, Mal was currently waiting for Evie to get out of the bathroom so that Mal could get in the shower as Evie had been doing for the past forever.

“Hey, you about out yet?!” Mal finally called from her spot lounged on her bed where she was intently drawing on her latest masterpiece.

She had been working on it for quite some time and it was truly one of her favorite drawings so far. Everything about it seemed to scream the subject perfectly.

“Yeah, M! Give me just one sec,” Evie replied, yelling a bit so that she could be heard over the hair dryer. Mal raised an eyebrow in response as she drew gentle lines in experimentation before solidifying them into harder, more grounded lines.

“I was just wondering if I should call 9-1-1!” Mal raised her voice in a sarcastic quip. Evie didn’t respond, but Mal could practically feel the heavy eyeroll. Mal smirked victoriously, knowing that she had achieved the response for which she had aimed.

There were a few more moments that passed before Evie finally came out of the bathroom. Mal kept her eyes on her drawing for a few moments, doing some final checks.

“Finally through, are you?” Mal questioned without looking up.

“Yeah. Sorry I took so long. I know you’re after a shower, too,” Evie told Mal, an apologetic tone lacing her words. The faerie smiled softly, knowing Evie hadn’t meant to spend an hour and a half in the bathroom. After all, Evie always had enjoyed her exceedingly long showers now that she was living in Auradon.

“It’s okay, E, don’t worry about--” Mal immediately froze as her eyes settled upon a brand-new Evie with a horrifying and prominent change to her head.

“What happened to your hair?!” Mal yelped as she stared at Evie in complete horror as the bluenette stood there before the foot of the bed. Evie just smiled one of those enormous grins that showcased all of her teeth, and she ran her hand through her now baby blue tresses.

“Nothing. I lightened it. What do you think? I really believe it brings out my eyes and kind of gives me a softer, more Auradon look,” Evie told Mal, and the faerie swallowed hard, trying to control her initial impulse to tell Evie how freakishly unnatural that the color looked.

“It’s… new,” Mal finally commented, hoping that would be enough to satiate Evie’s need for praise. Evie just beamed at Mal before losing a bit of her smile as she looked in the mirror. Mal furrowed her brow, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Evie examining her body.

However, before she could focus on it for too long, Evie suddenly brightened and turned away from the mirror, looking at Mal proudly.

“I really think this is a good change for me,” Evie told her happily, coming over and hugging Mal tightly from her position there on the bed. Mal returned it easily, knowing Evie so loved hugs, but was reeling the entire time.

Mal was completely baffled by the sudden lack of color in Evie’s hair and she quite honestly didn’t like this new washed-out look. It was Mal’s conviction that Evie was most gorgeous when her hair was that stunning natural shade of navy blue.

But Evie seemed entirely too pleased and satisfied with herself for Mal to express that thought, so the faerie decided to let it go, instead settling for accepting Evie for her small changes. Even if Mal did find them completely unnecessary.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It had been several days since Evie had dyed her hair that stubbornly light shade of blue, and nothing had seemed out of the ordinary since then.

That was, until today.

“Hey, M, help me out, please?” Evie questioned, and Mal quickly noticed that Evie’s voice sounded oddly strained as she spoke. Mal looked up swiftly, worried for her best friend and sister. It was then that she realized that Evie was standing there trying to pull on a corset.

Mal furrowed her brow, totally and completely perplexed that the other girl was wearing that. Mal got off the bed, leaving her drawing forgotten there at her desk. The faerie very slowly and uncertainly approached Evie’s back, the waterfall of much too light-colored hair falling down her back as she patiently awaited Mal’s assistance.

Mal moved her head, looking around Evie’s waist as she examined her best friend. Evie looked down at her with some alarm, a little shocked at Mal’s sudden appearance nearby her midsection.

Mal then withdrew, straightening behind Evie and looking at her strangely.

“Evie, this already looks tight enough. If you squeeze yourself any more, you’re going to turn inside out,” Mal told her, and Evie shook her head adamantly.

“No, no, don’t worry. I’ve had it tighter. Go for it. Pull hard,” Evie told her, grabbing onto the nearby bedpost of her bed in their dorm. Mal stared at the back of Evie’s head for a long moment before taking the strings in her hands and pulling halfheartedly.

The faerie honestly wasn’t particularly sure if she thought that this was a great idea. It was actually sort of scary that Evie was so determined to make herself so ridiculously thin. Mal knew it was completely unnatural and Mal honestly wanted Evie to have a natural-looking waist as opposed to an absurdly small one.

“C’mon, M, you can pull it tighter. I can take it,” Evie told her, a slightly rougher version of that normally sweet voice ringing out and immediately capturing Mal’s attention. The faerie sighed deeply, not liking this idea, but deciding that she would comply with Evie’s commands.

So Mal pulled tightly against Evie’s body, and Evie slightly gasped in response to the sudden pressure, but she released a hum of approval after a few moments when she had finally regained her breath.

“There you go, M. Now tie it up really tight,” Evie told her, and Mal noted the lack of comfortableness in her voice as well as Evie’s slight worsening of her already raspy voice. Mal furrowed her brow, feeling her stomach twist uncomfortably with the unnatural sound in Evie’s voice.

Mal was quiet for several moments as she tried to decipher how to best tie it, and she slowly worked the strings as she tried to think of something to say to her best friend that would not be too much.

“I didn’t even know that you still had one of these,” Mal pointed out offhandedly, releasing one of the many thoughts that were circulating through her mind at this moment.

“Yeah. I never got rid of it since we came over here,” Evie told Mal, and Mal furrowed her brow, remembering all of the times that she had witnessed Evie wearing a corset.

Mal finished tying it, and Evie turned to her gratefully, smiling at the faerie. Mal forced a small smile on her face, despite the fact that she was exceedingly unnerved by Evie’s sudden need for a corset.

They had been there for quite some time now, and Evie hadn’t needed or had the slightest desire for a corset before now. This was quite honestly scaring Mal. The last time that Evie had ever worn a corset was when they had first arrived at Auradon. Since she had realized that her mother wasn’t going to be around her and she had a chance to actually breathe, Evie hadn’t been wearing a corset at all.

“Thanks, M,” Evie expressed, embracing Mal in a side-hug and kissing the top of her head affectionately before moving over to look in her dresser for a suitable shirt to start the day.

Mal watched Evie’s back carefully as the girl very uncomfortably shifted about with the tightness of the corset. Mal then slightly shook her head before slowly turning back to return to her drawing.

Something was not right with Evie, and Mal was mostly sure that the new hair color as well as the sudden corset-wearing was the least of Mal’s worries.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“What’re you doing?” Mal questioned, raising an eyebrow as she entered the boys’ room with her drawing book in hand. Evie was lounged in a couch in front of the television, still sporting that cursed hair color, and Evie just offered her an enormous grin.

It had been about a week since Evie started wearing that corset, and Mal was thankful to notice that Evie didn’t seem to be wearing it at this moment if her comfortable position on the couch was anything to go by. Which was quite a relief. Mal really didn’t like for Evie to be wearing the corset because it seemed that Evie always insisted on it being tied much too tightly.

“I thought you might want to watch a movie with me,” Evie told her, and Mal’s expression softened as she saw Evie’s caring gaze and loving smile. Mal couldn’t possibly deny her sister, and it was honestly just a relief to see Evie acting so normal in the midst of all of these weird things that Evie had been doing.

“I made popcorn,” Evie piped up cheerily, lifting an untouched bowl of popcorn to show Mal. Evie had that ridiculously hopeful expression on her face as she tried to coax Mal into coming over there and spending time with her. Mal just tilted her head slightly, eyeing Evie lovingly.

So Mal forgot her concerns for a moment in favor of snuggling close with her sister and best friend.

“Well, you know I can’t deny Evie-made popcorn. It’s always that perfect balance of butter and salt,” Mal complimented and she smiled as she noticed Evie’s form puff up considerably with the praise. Of course, Mal knew Evie would. It was still sweet to see her get so excited, though.

Mal plopped down next to Evie and placed her sketch book on the nearby table, shooting it one last longing look. The bluenette then took the remote, looking through the recordings of movies and finally selecting one. Mal smiled as she nestled against Evie, unable to resist cuddling into Evie’s warm body that always seemed to radiate heat like a furnace despite the fact that Evie always complained of being cold.

However, as she did, Mal couldn’t help but notice that Evie’s side was slightly sharper and more unforgiving against Mal’s body than it normally was. Evie wrapped an arm around Mal’s frame. As Evie’s arm hung a bit loosely and draped over into Mal’s vision, the faerie noticed that her arm was oddly bony and that round part of the top of Evie’s wrist was poking out strangely.

Mal furrowed her brow. It was almost as if Evie were thinner than usual.

So, Mal experimentally poked Evie’s side, and Evie huffed, immediately moving her body in a defensive position as she tried to keep from laughing. After all, she was quite ticklish.

“Stop, you’re tickling me,” Evie told her, a fond chuckle evident in her voice. Mal just raised an eyebrow at Evie as the taller girl never moved her gaze from the television. Mal moved her hand so that it was laying more flatly against Evie’s ribcage, and Evie tensed up slightly.

“Hey, if I knew you were going to initiate a tickle fight, I would’ve been more prepared,” Evie playfully told Mal, but the faerie could hear a slight bit of something a bit more edgy in her voice.

Mal pursed her lips slightly as Evie turned her head to meet Mal’s eyes finally. Mal stared at her for a moment, knowing well that Evie hadn’t been this thin the last time that Mal had been snuggled against her on this sofa.

Mal was about to voice her thoughts before Evie just leaned forward and nuzzled Mal’s forehead before pulling away with a loving expression. Evie then turned her attentions to the television once again.

The faerie watched Evie for a moment before finally deciding that she wouldn’t bring it up at this moment. After all, this was time between just the both of them, and Mal greatly treasured the moments that her and Evie shared by themselves.

So Mal let it go. For now, at least.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Wow, Eves,” Carlos suddenly spoke as he approached the girls where they were sitting there on the bench at the Tourney field. He furrowed his brow, tilting his head as he eyed Mal and Evie. Mal lifted her gaze from her drawing that she had been so diligently working on in favor of raising an eyebrow in response to him, and she glanced over at Evie.

Mal and Evie had come to watch the boys practice Tourney. Mal had been keeping a very close eye on Evie. Especially since the other girl’s face was practically dripping with sweat and she seemed much more sluggish than usual. It could have been due to the immense heat, but even Mal in her sun-hating ways was not reacting in the same manner as Evie.

“What?” Evie questioned, and her voice had a strange sound to it that immediately set off warning alarms in Mal’s mind. Mal turned her head to look at Evie, eyeing her closely. She sounded so weak, and so unlike herself.

“Look at her, Jay,” Carlos piped up, elbowing Jay as he approached the two with a water bottle. Jay flashed Carlos a slight glare as some of the liquid in it spilled, but he ultimately complied and looked at Evie. Jay suddenly looked terribly concerned.

“You look terrible, Apple,” Jay commented, using that fond nickname he had for Evie.

It was almost as if the lenses had completely shifted for Mal. Mal’s ordinary rose-colored glasses that she always viewed Evie with were gone and replaced with completely clear ones that allowed her to see the obvious red flags proudly waving for everyone to see.

Evie’s usual glow that she had was completely gone in favor of sunken eyes and a dull sheen to those ordinarily so expressive orbs that were ordinarily so emotional and sweet. Mal especially noted that Evie’s cheeks looked nowhere near as full as they should have, and her features seemed almost too large for her underweight face.

And honestly, the fact that she hadn’t noticed this beforehand chilled her to the very bone.

“Well, thank you, Jay,” Evie somewhat sarcastically replied in an uncharacteristic show of sass, but it was very clearly good-natured by the slight smile and warmth in her voice. Mal couldn’t even focus on the girl’s teasing as a result of the terrifying nightmare that she just realized that she was in.

“No, seriously, I hope a strong gust of wind doesn’t come by or you’ll blow away,” Jay told her, risking a joke despite the fact that he seemed quite concerned.

“Oh, come on, guys. Seriously? I’m fine.” Jay and Carlos shared a skeptical glance, but finally they both shrugged. Mal almost wanted to slap them for their obliviousness and their willingness to let the entire thing go.

“Whatever you say,” Carlos replied, grabbing Evie’s untouched snack from the bench. Mal very clearly noted that it was untouched as soon as Carlos picked it up, and Mal felt her heart racing at the realization.

Carlos ate several of the French fries in the container, licking his lips before putting them back and diving for Mal’s upon realizing that she had curly fries. He wasted no time in gobbling them all up with a wicked smile, and Mal couldn’t even bring herself to care that he had just devoured all of her food.

“Snowflake!” Evie exclaimed, and Carlos looked at her with a cheeky grin.

“What? I’m a growing boy!”

“You ate all of M’s fries!” Evie cried, and she shook her head, looking over her shoulder sluggishly as she searched for the stand with all of the fries. Evie soon spotted it, and she turned back to look at Mal with a slight smile. Mal felt an almost physical blow as she realized that even Evie’s smile was less illuminating.

“Here, I’ll go get you some more,” Evie told Mal, standing up somewhat shakily. Mal was immediately aware of Evie’s wobbliness, but she was reeling entirely too much to stand up and steady the other girl.

Evie took a few steps toward the stand before suddenly freezing in place. She stood there still for a few moments, before she suddenly looked exceedingly off-balance. Mal’s eyes widened as she realized precisely what was about to happen.

But before Mal could dive forward and grab her, Evie went crashing to the ground, her body hitting the grassy ground with a thump.

There was most assuredly something wrong.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mal was sitting there on the bed next to Evie, drawing in her sketch book, when the bluenette finally began to stir. Mal raised an eyebrow slightly, putting down her sketchbook on the nearby table as she turned her attentions to Evie where she was snuggled into Mal’s side.

When the girl had fainted on the Tourney field, the boys had helped Mal carry her back to their dorm. Carlos and Jay were sweet, and they were terribly worried. They had even offered to stay and skip their Tourney practice, but Mal had waved them off and sent them back. They tried hard, but this was more of a girl issue, and Mal wasn’t sure how well the boys would be able to understand.

After they had left, the faerie had then taken it upon herself to look through every bit of the personal stores of food that Evie had stashed. To her utmost horror, there was no sign of even a single morsel of food. Not even Evie’s beloved Oreos were present, and Mal knew for a fact that Evie always kept Oreos.

But it was just a confirmation of Mal’s worst fears.

“M? What happened?” Evie asked, trembling a bit as she arose somewhat. Mal looked down at her in something between pain and sympathy.

“Oh, nothing much. You just fainted because you haven’t eaten anything in who knows how long and your body couldn’t deal with the lack of food any longer,” Mal nonchalantly explained, and Evie looked up at her quickly.

“How did you find out?” Evie questioned, having the good graces to look ashamed of herself.

“I looked through all of your food that you keep, and saw that you have absolutely nothing stashed away,” Mal replied simply, looking down at the bluenette. For a moment, Evie just gaped at her, her mouth moving in unformed words.

However, Evie finally decided to say nothing, instead just pressing her forehead against Mal’s side and closing her eyes wearily with a deep sigh.

They sat like this for several moments, with Evie’s deep breaths being the only sound while Mal’s hand rested on her back gently.

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten something?” Mal finally asked after the silence persisted longer than Mal had the patience to allow it. Evie immediately pulled away a bit to look up at Mal with pleading eyes.

“M, it’s not what you---”

“How long, Evie?” Mal demanded, interrupting the bluenette in the midst of her attempts to distract and pull away from the topic at hand. Evie was quiet for a long time.

When she finally did speak up, her voice was barely able to be heard.

“I ate something three days ago at breakfast,” Evie murmured, and Mal felt her heart drop to her feet.

“Evie, how many meals have you had the past two weeks?” Mal questioned, knowing that Evie would know the precise answer. Evie was mathematical that way.

“Four or five maybe… If you count the granola bar,” Evie answered quietly, her voice barely making any noise as she spoke. Mal suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry, but she kept it under control by some miracle.

“Why… Why have you been starving yourself, E?” Mal finally mustered, and the bluenette released a small whine that was barely perceptible.

“I deserve it.”

Mal felt like all of the world cam crashing down on her at that moment. How could Evie believe that she deserved starvation? How could Evie believe that she deserved anything less than the best in life?

“What could you have ever done to deserve this?” Mal questioned, completely bumfuzzled at the girl’s statement. Evie swallowed hard, and Mal was just noticing a bit of dampness to her shirt. Evie sniffled, and Mal stroked Evie’s back, trying to comfort her the best that she could at this angle.

“Mommy was right about me,” Evie whispered, and Mal felt a sharp stab to her heart. “I couldn’t keep a prince. I couldn’t even keep a dwarf.”

“Evie, what are you---”

“M, don’t you see?!” Evie suddenly outburst, sitting up to look at Mal with her terribly underweight face and her sunken gaze. Mal swallowed, holding Evie’s stare as she truly beheld the pain and torment within those chocolatey brown eyes.

“I am hideous, Mal! My hair is this stubborn dark shade of blue,” Evie pointed at the beginnings of gorgeous navy-blue roots, “my waist is too thick,” Evie gestured at that perfectly sculpted waist that was currently sans-corset since Mal had pulled it off during her time knocked out, “and I’m overweight!” Evie touched her nonexistent stomach.

“M, can’t you see what I see?!” Evie cried, her voice cracking mid-sentence as tears started to puddle in her eyes. Mal stared at Evie for a long minute, her own set of tears welling up in her own green orbs. Mal shut her eyes for a moment, swallowing hard, before reopening them. The tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed at her best friend, shaking her head slowly.

“Evie, can’t _you_ see what _I_ see?” Mal asked carefully, and Evie just stared at her as she breathed deeply. Mal took Evie’s hands in her own gently and she stepped off the bed, pulling Evie up with her. Evie shakily stood, and Mal made sure to keep hold of her as she guided the other girl to the mirror.

Mal stood there behind Evie and looked around the other girl’s shoulder as Evie gazed at her reflection fearfully. Mal felt her heart utterly ache for Evie. Mal never wanted to see Evie afraid.

But Mal pulled herself together. After all, she had a mission. Mal reached for Evie’s head and lowered it a bit so that Evie could see the dark blue roots.

“What is so bad about this hair color?” Mal questioned, taking two fingers and running them along Evie’s hairline.

“It’s not light and pretty like everyone else in Auradon,” Evie barely spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse from the lump in her throat as she attempted to keep from crying.

“My hair’s dark purple, E. Is it ugly because of that?” Mal questioned, and Evie almost tripped over herself in her haste to face Mal.

“No, never!”

“What makes you different, then?” Mal asked patiently as Evie clutched at Mal’s hands tightly. Evie looked down, not having a suitable answer for that.

Mal then pulled her hands from Evie’s firm hold to slowly reposition the bluenette so that she was facing the mirror once again.

“What about this waist is thick, Evie?” Mal questioned carefully as she placed her hands on Evie’s sides. Evie blinked, and several tears cascaded down her cheeks.

“And what about this stomach is overweight?” Mal asked, shifting her hands so that they were placed on Evie’s nonexistent belly. Evie was almost shaking at this point, and she lifted her arms so that she could grasp at Mal’s wrists, searching for some sort of comfort as she struggled through her own personal issues.

“If anything, your waist is too thin right now and your stomach is too underweight,” Mal told her, and Evie shook her head in disbelief.

“M, I’m ugly.”

“Genevieve Catarina Queen, don’t you dare say you’re ugly ever again,” Mal firmly commanded, allowing some of her upset to leak into her tone. Evie flinched a bit, and Mal’s eyes softened as she wrapped her arms around Evie’s midsection from behind.

“Evie, you are the most beautiful person I know. Not just on the inside, but on the outside,” Mal mumbled against the other girl’s back. Mal could hear the barely suppressed sobs that Evie was currently struggling through, and Mal nuzzled her face between Evie’s much too bony shoulder blades.

“And I’m not just biased,” Mal told her, almost reading the other girl’s thoughts, and Evie froze as she listened.

“Have you seen the amount of girls that would give an arm and a leg to have your features? Have you seen the amount of boys that look at you all the time like you’re some slab of fresh meat or something?” Mal asked, and Evie swallowed hard before her very pained, small voice sounded.

“Then why can’t I keep a guy, M?”

Mal felt her heart drop harshly to the ground for what seemed like the millionth time during this conversation. Mal knew why Evie was feeling this way. It had hurt Evie terribly when Doug dumped her, and it had sent a severe blow to her self-esteem because she had been so confident that she could at least keep a dwarf. Mal had thought that she had fixed it not so long ago when the breakup had occurred, but it was obviously not resolved.

Mal bit her bottom lip before gaining the strength to speak her thoughts again.

“Because one of them was a jerk that used you, and the other one was a total idiot that didn’t see a good thing that was right in front of him that you thought you had to settle for because you thought you couldn’t do any better,” Mal told her, ripping open Evie’s hidden feelings successfully. Evie’s grip on Mal’s arms had by now loosened somewhat, but they were now clinging onto her tighter than ever.

“Evie, I know what you think. You think you need a guy to make you somebody,” Mal pointed out, and Evie nodded slowly in affirmation. Mal responded with a nod of her own before continuing.

“Do you think I need Ben? Do you think that I have to have him?” Mal inquired softly, and Evie immediately shook her head. Of course, Mal knew she would know the answer. Evie knew Mal just as well as Mal knew Evie.

“I don’t need Ben, E. I want him, but need him? No. I don’t need him in the least,” Mal explained.

“You don’t need a guy. When you find the right one, you’ll want him. But you won’t need him,” Mal told her, her voice ringing quietly yet strongly. Evie carefully nodded, and Mal moved her head so that the side of it was pressed against Evie’s arm.

“And more than that, you don’t need to starve yourself to get one,” Mal stated, and she pursed her lips slightly as she noticed that the tears were just rolling down Evie’s cheeks.

“You could’ve died, E. Starving yourself can cause you to die. And I can’t lose you,” Mal told her plainly, and Evie’s bottom lip trembled uncontrollably as the gravity of the situation fully collapsed upon her.

“M, I’m… I’m---”

“You’re hungry, you’re tired, and you’re weak. And I’m not going to leave you alone until you’ve taken care of yourself properly,” Mal explained with the slightest of smiles before releasing Evie and stepping to her side to face the other girl front-on.

Evie stood there and stared at Mal for a long moment, those expressive brown eyes dripping tears like a stream.

“Come here,” Mal opened her arms, and she suddenly found Evie barreling into her, the bluenette’s arms wrapped around Mal’s body as tightly as she could possibly manage. Evie held her tightly, finally releasing the sobs pent up. Mal could feel wetness on her own cheeks, and she knew that she was crying with Evie.

“I’m so sorry,” Evie whispered, and Mal nodded, knowing well that Evie was.

“Don’t apologize. You’re okay now. You’re okay,” Mal whispered to Evie, and she felt her heart simultaneously breaking as she felt Evie’s bony form and healing as she felt the love in Evie’s embrace.

“I love you, M,” Evie sniffled hard, and Mal stroked the back of Evie’s head comfortingly.

“I love you, too,” Mal replied, caressing every word with the deepest of affection as she squeezed Evie a bit tighter in her grasp.

“Thank you for saving me,” Evie whispered, and Mal just buried her nose into Evie’s hair, trying to push away her urge to simply break down crying even worse than she was now.

And so they just stood there for a long moment.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was about a week after their confrontation and Evie had been so much more affectionate and clingier since then. Of course, Evie was always that way, but it seemed especially more since Evie truly realized that Mal had rescued her from eventual doom.

Evie herself was feeling infinitely thankful for all that Mal had done, and she had been concentratedly working to eat plentiful meals consistently. Mal had carefully watched her at each mealtime, trying to ensure that she ate everything. Evie had been having a bit of a hard time so far, but with Mal’s steady and constant encouragement, she was sure that she would overcome her issues.

Evie had just emerged from the bathroom, and she looked in the mirror carefully, gazing at the person there before her. Her ribs were still protruding just a bit, and her body looked less nourished than it did before. But she was healing, and her face already looked much better.

And best of all, Evie’s hair was now hanging in beautiful, dark blue curls spiraling around and over her shoulders. Evie smiled happily, risking being happy with the girl looking back at her. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the much healthier person in the mirror, and she felt a satisfaction and joy rising within her as she actually started to see a fraction of what Mal saw.

Evie sighed with a slight smile before turning back to face her bed. She stopped and furrowed her brow at the sight of a piece of paper laying there upon it.

Evie hesitantly approached, stepping to the side of the bed before picking up the paper gently. There on the exposed side of the folded paper was a note.

“ _Just in case you’re having a hard time remembering what you look like to me. Love, your M_ ,” it read. A small smile came to Evie’s face, and she carefully unfolded the paper.

There on the piece of parchment, there was a beautiful princess with flowing dark blue hair surrounding a definitively gold tiara and an enormously poofy baby blue dress framing her body. There was a heavenly glow surrounding the princess.

But perhaps most strikingly, she had her hand outstretched and was petting the nose of an enormous purple dragon with glowing green eyes. She seemed to be fully competent of calming the dragon, and it seemed to be fully at her command as it rested there before her in the grass, a small smile drawn across its enormous maw.

Evie felt her heart swelling with affection as she gazed at the picture. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she noticed a few droplets of moisture on the paper. Evie breathed out shakily before wiping her eyes gently.

She swallowed hard, and she slowly turned to face her desk and the door.

There standing in the doorway was the dragon from the picture in perfect faerie form, a smile dancing across her face as she looked at the princess.

“So, princess, feel like going out and getting a milkshake?” Mal asked, her eyes glowing that signature shade of bright green as she looked at Evie with a hint of mischief in her features.

Evie sat the paper down on the desk before wasting no time in striding over to Mal to engulf the smaller girl in her arms. Mal wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Evie just as tightly as Evie had grabbed her.

Yes, Mal was Evie’s dragon, and Evie was Mal’s princess.

But above all, Mal was the best sister and the best friend that Evie could ever ask for.


End file.
